THE BAHAMA ISLANDS 415 



mules or horses, causes the hair of the mane and tail to fall out, giving a rather 

 remarkable appearance to the animals, who have been so unfortunate as to have 

 the bean as a diet. 



At some of the islands, we found hanging to various fruit trees, fantastic- 

 ally draped bottles and sticks, which, we were informed, were charms to frighten 

 away thieves and evil spirits. This superstition, called " Obiism," is quite com- 

 mon in the outer islands. It is believed by the negroes that if any one but the 

 rightful owners should eat the fruit from a tree on which this spell has been 

 placed, he will swell up and burst. We were not fortunate enough, however, 

 to see a demonstration of this remarkable effect. ' 



Our own treatment of the natives, which has been somewhat outlined in 

 the previous pages, consisted first, in operations of various kinds when these 

 were not of such a nature as to call for a prolonged halt of the Expedition, 

 and second, in the administration of various appliances and drugs adapted to 

 the conditions encountered. In a number of instances where the children 

 or the older people were afflicted with stomach disorders, we would leave a 

 liberal supply of malted milk, albuminized food, and other medicines, such as 

 ■ gentian," dilute hydrochloric acid, etc., with directions for treatment, in the 

 hands of competent persons, such as the minister or better informed people 

 in the community. In the cases of nervous disorders, we employed the usual 

 remedies, such as strychnia, arsenic, iron and iodide of potash; in malarial 

 fevers, quinine; in the enteric troubles we were especially pleased with the 

 action of the new remedy, acetazone, and also employed various other intestinal 

 antiseptics, such as lead and opium pills ; in lung diseases we used various cough 

 mixtures, and especially liked liquid peptonoids and creosote. As a general 

 rule, the hypophosphites with iron, quinine and strychnia were the most 

 serviceable. Constipation was relieved with the usual remedies, such as 

 calomel, pills of aloin, strychnia, and belladonna, and in the case of the 

 members of the Expedition I found the compound rhubarb pill of the British 

 pharmacopeia to be the most serviceable, for the reason that the rhubarb has 

 a slightly astringent action after its purgative effect and is not liable, for this 

 reason, to start up a diarrhea which cannot be stopped. For the various in- 

 testinal worms, santonin and male fern were employed. 



GOVERNMENT HOSPITALS. 



It must not be concluded from the preceding discussion that the people 

 of the Bahama Islands are doing nothing to relieve the afflicted in their midst, 



